Waiting For an Angel
by bandgeek63
Summary: Nearly two years after the events of Frozen, Queen Elsa is happily married and enjoying life with her family. When she finds out she is going to have a baby, she travels to her ice castle, unsure of how to feel, to find some solitude and think things over. But then she saves a young girl whose tragic story may change the way Elsa looks at things forever. Warning:sad and depressing
1. Prolouge

**A/N: Hello and welcome to "Waiting For an Angel"! Let me start by saying that this is very exciting because this is my first fanfic, and I'd also like to point out that I actually already finished writing this beforehand... cause I wanted to, you know, make sure it would be finished and I wouldn't leave people hanging... cause that would not be a good way to start my fanfiction career...**

**Anyway, a few things about this story that you may want to know: First of all, it's a little OC centric, I mean its mostly in Elsa's point of view, but she's about the only canon character that we see very much of. So if you are looking for something a little more "Frozen" centered... I'd still love it if you'd check this story out, but if not there are lots of other really cool "Frozen" fics out there that I would recommend. Just saying! Second, I should warn you that this story is a little dark and depressing so... again this story will not be for everyone! This is more for me than anyone else so if y'all don't like it, that's ok! if you do, then that's fantastic!**

**Now this prologue is in one of my OC's POV, but the rest of the story is in Elsa's POV. So on that note, and without further ado, I give you "Waiting For an Angel."**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Frozen, then this would not be _fan_fiction, so therefore, I don't.**

* * *

A small girl with a cloak over her shoulders and a pack on her back walks through a little wooden house in the woods. She enters a room where an even smaller girl slept. The older girl put on a sad smile, seeing her five year old sister dreaming.

She loved her family, she did, but she felt that staying any longer would only put them all in more pain. Every moment she spent with her sister made her agonize over the thought that the happy moment could well be the last of its kind. And her sister knew it, too. What they all knew to be inevitable grew closer by the day, and she couldn't bear to watch her sister cry over her anymore.

Careful not to wake her sister, she gently kissed her forehead. _Sweet dreams, Emilie._

She turned from the room without looking back. She crept through the halls so as not to wake Mother and Mathias. She slowly opened the creaky front door just enough for her to fit through and hastily made her exit. She quickly made her way forward into the woods without letting herself have second thoughts.

For hours, she walked on, praying she wasn't going in circles. She needed to get down to Arendelle so she could find a place to stay. She was growing weary and thirsty, but she was already running out of water and she didn't know how much further she would have to go, so she decided to tough it out.

She sat down by a tree to rest. She thought of Emilie, crying at her sudden disappearance. She wished she could have one more chance to tell her she loves her, but she convinced herself that she could not go back, that it was for the better, and hoped that one day Emilie would understand.

_Maybe I should go back before they worry..._ she thought.

_No,_ she reassured herself, _It's for the best..._

Snapping out of her inner war, she heard growling from the darkness. She stood and saw several pairs of yellow eyes staring at her.

_Wolves._

She stood frozen for a moment, unsure of what to do. She soon did the only thing she could possibly think of: run.

She knew that she was running away from Arendelle, but she just needed to get away. She ran toward the North Mountain, hoping that the steep hill would slow the pack of wolves that pursued her.

She ran faster than she ever had before. As she ascended the mountain, the wolves did seem to be struggling as she put a little more distance between them, but now she faced another problem. As she ascended the mountain, it became colder, and she was soon high enough that there was snow on the ground. She was not dressed warmly enough for snow; she was dressed for the type of weather there would normally be in May.

Despite the bone-chilling temperature, she tried to push herself on, as the wolves were catching up. She was getting colder by the second, and it was getting harder and harder to move.

Near the top of the mountain, she stopped dead when she realized she'd reached a dead end in the form of a wall of rocks that she certainly had no way of climbing. Desperately searching for a route of escape, she found a short tunnel that led directly through it. She glanced behind her at the pack of wolves that was still in hot pursuit and quickly made her way through the tunnel, praying that they would not figure out how to get through.

On the other side she slowed for a moment to catch her breath. Looking up to see where she would need to go, she halted at the sight in front of her.

There atop the mountain stood a castle, a palace, made entirely of ice. It glimmered as the light of the rising sun reflected through it.

She stood agape at the majesty of the structure, and she eyed the elegant stairs that led over a chasm to the door of the castle...

Suddenly something pulled her down by her cloak. The wolves had figured out how to get through. She screamed as loud as she could as she was yanked down and thrown across the ground. She slid across the snow and came to an abrupt stop when her head hit the rocks.

Her vision blurred as the wolves surrounded her, growling and bearing their teeth, ready to pounce. She had no strength left to move, as much as she tried to. She did not want her end to be like this, full of pain and sorrow. But escape now seemed impossible...

Then, out of nowhere, a large blast of cold, icy wind pushed the wolves away from her and into each other. She saw them scramble to their feet and run off, whimpering.

The darkness was creeping into the corners of her eyes. She was just able to make out a figure walking toward her from the ice castle. They bent over her, and she stared deep into their crystal blue eyes...

Then the world went black.

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**So firstly, I'd like to thank you for reading this prologue. (and for the record, I'm actually quite proud of myself for getting this far!) Please review, favorite, and follow if you liked it!**

**Now as I said before, this whole story is already written, and I've worked out that I'm going to (hopefully) be updating on Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. If I know I have something and won't be able to update on any one of these days, I will try to make sure I let you know! ;-) And if you're wondering why I'm not updating every day, it's because this story is only 11 chapters (including this) and if updated every day this would be over in a week-and-a-half, and would be no fun cause it'd be over too fast!**

**Don't forget to review! ;-D**

_**Read on, write on, dream on.- bandgeek63**_


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: Omigod you guys are AWESOME! I can't believe how many views this has gotten in one day! Thank you guys so much for all the favorites and follows.**

**This chapter, and the rest of the story after this, is in Elsa's POV, and I should point out that this does NOT pick up where the last chapter left off. This is before the little girl comes in, so just know that so you're not confused. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I am pretty darn sure that I do not, have never, and will never own Frozen.**

* * *

_"Fear will be your enemy." Elsa saw the trolls showing her what would happen if she let her fear consume her. Only, she noticed, the little girl they were telling this to was not her. She looked just like her, but it was not her. The little girl gasped in fear at the sight of the beautiful magic being destroyed by the evil of the world, and she clutched to Elsa for dear life. As Elsa embraced the child to comfort her, she felt guilt overcome her with the thought that this girl's burden was her fault..._

Elsa awoke in a cold sweat. The usual chill in the air was amplified by the nightmare she'd just had, but a warm presence next to her reminded her that she was not alone. She glanced at Liam, her husband, sound asleep.

_Husband._ That was such a strange word. It had not been long since the wedding, only a few months, but it had been the best time of her life. She'd never loved someone so much, except Anna, of course.

Elsa couldn't believe how much her sister had grown since her coronation nearly two years ago. Anna and Kristoff were married, and there was now a small baby girl, Princess Sarah, whom Anna named after their mother, sleeping in the nursery.

_Baby._ The word "husband" made Elsa feel anxious; the word "baby" just scared her.

She sat up on the bed and hugged her knees to her chest. She couldn't forget what she had been told the day before. She would never forget.

.:.^*^.:.

_"Elsa, please! Please!" Anna begged, "You have to go see the castle doctor!"_

_Elsa tried to tug away from her sister as the princess tried to drag her through the hallway._

_"No, Anna!" she replied stubbornly, "I'm fine!"_

_"This is the third morning in a row you've gotten sick!"_

_Anna paused and stared at her sister pleadingly. Elsa sighed. She knew there must be something wrong, but she still didn't want to go to the doctor. She didn't want to have one more thing to worry about._

_"So?" Elsa said, "It's normal for people to get sick. It's not a big deal."_

_Anna looked at her as if that was the stupidest thing she'd ever heard. "Elsa, I've never seen you get sick before in your life."_

_Elsa resumed her struggle to get away, and Anna resumed her struggle to keep her from doing just that. Then, they heard a cough from someone to catch their attention. _

_Elsa turned. "Liam."_

_Anna let go of Elsa and walked over to him._

_"She got sick again this morning," she whispered. "I've been trying to get her to go to the doctor, but she won't listen to me."_

_Liam glanced at Elsa, concerned, when they all heard Sarah crying in the nursery._

_Anna sighed and turned back to Liam. "Maybe she'll listen to you."_

_Liam nodded as Anna went off to calm her daughter._

_Elsa leaned against the wall and sunk to the floor. She knew Anna was right, but she was afraid of what the doctor would say..._

_"She's right, you know," Liam said._

_"I know," she replied, " but I can't afford to worry about being sick."_

_She buried her face in her arms and cried. She had never felt like this before. Granted, her emotions were out of control when she was a teenager, but it was nothing like this._

_Liam knelt down next to her and stroked her hair as a layer of frost began to cover the hallway. "You know," he said, "I get this feeling that this might be a lot more complicated than the seasonal flu."_

_Elsa looked up at him as she tried to work out what he was talking about. Then, suddenly, it dawned on her._

_"No," she said. "It can't be- (I) can't be..."_

_She gazed into his eyes that tried to comfort her. He pulled her into and embrace and let her cry into his shoulder and he quietly shushed her. "Everything will be alright," he assured her as he kissed the top of her head._

_But Elsa refused to believe it. This couldn't be happening to her; it just couldn't. She couldn't be pregnant._

.:.^*^.:.

She was, of course. She remembered the doctor's words exactly: _Congratulations, your majesty, you are with a child._

Her head told her she should be excited, but her heart was unsure. Just the fact that she was pregnant didn't even seem to register very well. She just couldn't comprehend it. She didn't know how to feel.

Elsa worried about how difficult her child's life could be, not because of being the heir to the throne, but because of the queen herself. How could she possibly be a good mother when she couldn't be a good sister? How could she juggle trying to handle a child and still doing her queenly duties?

And then there was the whole other issue of her powers. What if she accidentally hurt the child with her powers? Or worse, what if the child bore the curse as well?

Elsa had to use all of her strength to not ice the sheets on her bed. Slowly she breathed and calmed herself down.

She looked again at the sleeping form that was her husband. She knew that he would try to help her through this, but right now, Elsa just felt like she needed time alone. But she wasn't going to get that at all if she stayed at the palace.

She knew what she had to do.

Silently, in the darkness, Elsa got out of bed and slipped into one of her ice dresses. She found a piece of paper and a pen and wrote:

_Liam,_

_I am going to my ice castle for a few days. Don't come after me. I just want to be alone for a while to think. I'll be back in a couple days._

_Love,_

_Elsa_

She placed the note on Liam's nightstand and scurried out of the room. After packing a bag with some things she would need, she made her way to the stables where her magnificent white horse slept.

"Winter," she whispered, nudging the horse awake. "Wake up, girl."

The horse awoke but remained silent at Elsa's presence.

"Come on, girl, we're going for a little ride."

Elsa let Winter out of the stable and saddled up. Within minutes, they were out of the castle, and soon, out of Arendelle.

Before she knew it, Elsa was standing before her magnificent ice palace that she had created as a safe haven of her own during her self-imposed exile.

Elsa made Winter her own little stable out of the way of the stairs or the passage through the cliff. She gave her water and a few apples she had packed in her bag. It felt good to be able to make things with her powers.

It was nerve racking, going into her ice castle after all this time. She hadn't set foot in it since the Great Thaw. Slowly, Elsa made her way up the stairs, opened the doors and entered the ice castle.

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**Keep sending those reviews, and I'll see you all on Tuesday!**

_**Read on, write on, dream on.- bandgeek63**_


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: Oh, hello there! Glad you decided to stop by! So, as promised, here is the next chapter. This chapter is mostly a flashback detailing how Elsa and Liam first met. I mainly wrote this to develop Liam's character, cause I didn't want him to be, like, that random dude that came outta nowhere! So, I hope you enjoy this (rather _long_) chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Frozen. Sorry.**

* * *

Elsa walked into the castle in silence. She had forgotten how beautiful this place was. From the snowflake embedded in the floor to the crystallized fountain, there was no doubt that Elsa's powers could make truly beautiful things.

Elsa ascended the spiral staircase to the second floor, and she gasped when she realized what sort of state this place had been left in. All she could see were the remains of the battle between herself and the Duke of Weselton's men. She shed a tear at the memory. If Hans hadn't stopped her she would have killed them. That sort of act would have scarred her for life. Stopping her was the only thing she could ever thank Hans for, not that she would ever admit it. She had plenty of things to punish him for as well.

She wiped her tears away and walked up to the broken shards of the chandelier that nearly took her life. She waved her hands, and within minutes the room was like new again.

Elsa walked into one of the rooms she had created and found the bed where she had once slept. She sat down and began to look through her bag. She had packed the essentials: food, water, an extra cloak in case she needed it...

She sighed as she thought of her predicament. She absentmindedly placed her hand on her stomach as she wondered how this could happen to her... Okay, she _knew_ how this happened to her, but she couldn't believe she let it happen.

She thought of Liam. He really did love her, and she loved him, too. Elsa sighed as she remembered how she realized she loved him...

.:.^*^.:.

_Elsa watched her sister and her new husband dance. Anna looked truly beautiful in her wedding gown. Elsa couldn't help but smile at how happy they looked. _

_"Your majesty." Upon hearing Kai's voice, Elsa snapped back to attention as she stood regally in front of her throne. Two men stood before her with Kai. The taller of the two looked about her age, and he was quite handsome with his light brown hair smoothed back under the crown he wore. The other man looked younger, possibly younger than Anna, and his similar appearance gave the queen no doubt that the two men were brothers._

_"King Liam and Prince Elias of Ahlberg," Kai announced._

_The two men bowed. "It is an honor, your majesty," the king said._

_"Likewise," Elsa replied. Ahlberg was one of Arendelle's closest trade partners, although the journey between the two was several days. "You have travelled quite a long way for this."_

_"Well, you see, your majesty, I have a reason for coming here other than just for the wedding, which I do give your sister my congratulations for, of course," Liam said._

_Elsa listened, intrigued. "Go on."_

_"You see, back in Ahlberg we are running a bit short on the supplies that we usually trade to you due to the unseasonal snowstorm this past summer."_

_Elsa put on a guilty face. She couldn't seem to go one week without finding out about another kingdom that was affected by her eternal winter six months prior._

_"I'm not trying to make you feel badly, Queen Elsa," Liam said noticing her guilt. "I only wish to discuss a way that we could still work something out so that Ahlberg could still get the supplies it needs from Arendelle to get through the winter."_

_"Of course," Elsa replied, relieved. "Do you have a place to stay while you are here in Arendelle?"_

_"We were planning to stay on board our ship for the time being," Prince Elias spoke up for the first time._

_"Would you like to stay in the castle?" the queen offered. "I imagine it would be much more comfortable than staying on a boat in harbor."_

_"The would be wonderful, Queen Elsa, thank you!" Liam responded. _

_"Very well," Elsa said. " Kai, would you please have some rooms made ready for our guests?"_

_"Right away, your majesty," Kai responded before hurrying off._

_Elias turned to his brother. "I'll go tell the men of these new arrangements."_

_Liam nodded. "Don't get lost," he teased._

_The prince rolled his eyes. "Very funny. I'll see you later." He smiled and nodded to Elsa. "Your majesty."_

_Elsa smiled back as Elias walked off. "He seems like he is not usually this quiet," she said, stepping down to be level with Liam. He now stood a good few inches taller than her._

_"He's not," Liam replied with a smile. "He usually won't stop talking."_

_"Reminds me a bit of my sister," she said, glancing at Anna._

_"Your sister is very lucky to have you in her life, your majesty," Liam said._

_"Please, call me Elsa."_

_Liam smiled at her as the orchestra began to play a waltz. He turned and bowed to her, holding out his hand._

_"May I have this dance?" he said._

_Elsa hesitated. "I'm not much of a dancer."_

_He chuckled as he took her gloved hand. "Then perhaps it's high time you learned."_

_She smiled as he kissed her hand and made no motion of protest when he placed a hand on her waist. She followed his motions as they danced and began to get this strange feeling as she gazed into his hazel eyes. _

_The rest of the night went by in a daze. After they danced, Elsa and Liam took a walk through the gardens. Elsa could tell as they talked that he was trying to avoid asking her about her powers. He would keep glancing at her gloves, but then he'd promptly change the subject._

_"You know," Elsa said finally, "you can ask. I don't mind."_

_"Ask?" he said, pretending he didn't know what she was talking about. "Ask what?"_

_"About my powers?" she replied. "I know you're wondering." _

_He sighed as they kept walking. "There are just a lot of rumors back home," he said. "They talk of the icy sorceress who rules Arendelle with a frozen heart."_

_Elsa wondered where he was going with this as he turned to face her._

_"I just don't believe that these rumors are true, especially after meeting you."_

_Elsa smiled at the ground. "I can't deny that I'm still struggling to run this kingdom properly," she said. "It's been hard."_

_"Nonsense, your kingdom is happy and prosperous. And I admire how well you are able to keep a good relationship with your sister as well."_

_Elsa stiffened. She didn't want to admit how strained her relationship with her sister once was._

_"So," she said, redirecting the conversation, "would you like to see what this 'icy sorceress' can do?"_

_He smirked. "If you want to show me."_

_Elsa removed her gloves and covered the garden in snow. Liam stared in awe at the beauty around him. Taking advantage of his current venerability, Elsa pelted him with a snowball. He chuckled and prepared to return fire, but she was too quick for him. Pretty soon, he was ducking in cover as she came up from behind him. She laughed as she fell down next to him. They lay there for what seemed like hours, gazing at the stars._

_The next few days was a lot of the same; getting to know each other and becoming more comfortable around each other by the day. Anytime Anna saw them together, she would smirk at Elsa and nudge her forward._

_Then, about a week into Liam and Elias's stay in Arendelle, the inevitable first argument came when Liam saw Elsa yelling at Anna for leaving with Kristoff without telling her._

_"C'mon, Elsa let her off the hook, she's fine," Liam tried to calm her._

_"No, I can't let her go on this! Something could have happened to her!" Elsa yelled angrily._

_"Nothing happened, though. She's here and she's alright."_

_"I can't lose her!" Elsa cried, icing up the room more. "You don't know how I feel!"_

_"Elsa, I do-"_

_"NO YOU DON'T!" She took her anger out on him. "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT I'VE BEEN THROUGH!"_

_Liam stepped back, trying to hide his hurt expression. "Well, maybe you don't know what _I've_ been through, either."_

_Elsa just stared, unsure of what to say. Liam turned and walked off. She turned to Anna, and saw her sister crossing her arms. Anna scoffed and walked in the opposite direction._

_Elsa turned and walked into her study. She knew she shouldn't have yelled, but what did he mean when he said that she didn't know what he'd been through?_

_She heard a knock at the door. "Who is it?"_

_"Prince Elias, your majesty."_

_Elsa sighed. She was afraid it would be Liam or Anna. "You may enter."_

_Elias entered the study with caution. "Princess Anna told me you and Liam had an argument. Are you alright?"_

_Elsa stared out the window. She needed to know._

_"Elias," she began, without looking at him, "during the argument, Liam said I didn't know what he's been through."_

_She waited for Elias to say something, but he didn't. She turned toward him. "What did he mean by that?"_

_Elias sighed as he sat down, but he hesitated to respond._

_"You know," Elsa said. "I know you do."_

_Elias stared at the floorboards. "Well, when our parents died in a flood, seven years ago," he began, "it was hard on both of us, but on Liam especially. He had to deal with the burdens of becoming king at only fifteen years old, which I, being only ten at the time, didn't understand. I thought I would still have my big brother to play with, but he kept telling me off. One day, he finally got past his wits end, and he yelled at me, and pretty much told me to grow up. I was devastated."_

_Elsa was intrigued by this. She had no idea._

_"I stopped bugging him. I just stopped talking to him completely. It wasn't until years later that I realized that telling me off hurt him just as much as it hurt me. He had to give up the remainder of his childhood completely when he became king, and I didn't realize how much I made it worse. As I've grown older, we've slowly grown back together a little bit, but it was a long time before I realized how much he really cared about me."_

_Elsa finally understood. Just like she had been forced out of her childhood and shut out Anna, Liam was forced to do the same thing to Elias._

_"I hope you understand that he cares about you as well, very much," Elias said to her. "It's been a long time since I've seen him so comfortable around another person."_

_Elsa nodded. "Thank you, Elias," she said, dismissing him. He left the study without saying anything else._

_It took Elsa this long to figure it out. Liam actually did understand what she has been through, because he has been through it himself. _

_She had to go apologize._

_She ran out of her study and to Liam's room as fast as she could. She softly knocked on the door and entered at the sound of Liam's voice._

_He looked at her with an expression of regret. "I heard you talked to Elias?"_

_She nodded, trying to hold back the tears. Unsure of what to say, she walked toward him and embraced him, as he placed a hand on her head._

_"That sob story doesn't excuse how I behaved today," he said._

_Elsa looked up at him, tears starting to poor from her eyes. "It doesn't excuse the way _I _behaved either," she said. "You were right, I didn't know what you've been through, but now I see you understand exactly what I've been through. I shouldn't have yelled, I just- I'm so sorry, Liam, I-"_

_She was cut off as Liam's lips met hers. The kiss caught her off guard, but she let it happen as she finally realized how much she was in love with him._

.:.^*^.:.

Elsa wiped more tears away as the memory ended and she began to remember where she was. The sun began to rise outside the ice castle, and she could hear the distant barking of wolves.

Elsa and Liam were married within a year after they met at Anna and Kristoff's wedding. She remembered the beautiful icy wedding dress that she insisted on making herself. When they were married, Liam passed the throne of Ahlberg to Elias so that he could stay with her here in Arendelle. As much as she loved him, she still couldn't believe that they were soon to be parents.

Elsa tried to let the world around her sink back in. The sounds of the wolves had gotten closer, but she dismissed it as the hungry pack chasing some poor other animal.

Then someone screamed.

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_**Read on, write on, dream on.- bandgeek63**_


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: SHORT CHAPTER ALERT! Sorry, but this is kind of a short transition chapter as we catch up to the prologue. It's short, but important nonetheless, so enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Frozen. I'm just a girl who got bored in English class one day and started writing a story.**

* * *

Elsa didn't hesitate to act. She rushed down the stairs and pushed the doors open.

There, by the cliff side, the wolf pack surrounded a figure that lay against the rocks. Elsa ran forward on the stairs, and as soon as she was close enough, she conjured up an icy wind that pushed the wolves away from the person. The frightened pack quickly got to its feet and ran off, whimpering.

As Elsa ran over to the injured body, she noticed how small the person was. Not just small, but a child; a little girl with a small bag and a traveling cloak.

The girl lay on her side, with her eyes just barely opened. Elsa kneeled down next to her and met her eyes for a moment. The girl tried to lift her head the tiniest bit, but then it fell back to the ground and her eyes shut completely.

Elsa panicked for a moment, but relaxed when saw that the girl was still breathing. Examining the girl's injuries, Elsa saw that she had hit her head pretty hard, and there was blood running through her light brown hair. Other than that, and the fact that she was freezing, she was relatively okay.

Elsa knew she couldn't just leave the child there. She had to get her out of the cold.

She lifted the small girl up to bring her into the ice castle. The girl was incredibly light, and Elsa was easily able to carry her.

Inside, Elsa laid the girl on her bed and began to tend to her wounds the best she knew how. She cleaned out the gash with a wet rag and wrapped her head with a gauze. Covering her with thick blankets, which despite being made of ice were not especially cold, Elsa made sure the girl would be warm.

Elsa sat on the side of the bed as the child now slept comfortably in front of her. The girl had been incredibly lucky. She could have been bitten by the wolves, she could have broken a bone, and if Elsa hadn't shown up she would have been killed. But this led Elsa to wonder why the girl was out there in the first place. She was all alone, and the fact that the sun had just risen meant she would have been out there in the dead of night. She couldn't have been more than nine or ten years old; what business could she possibly have had in the mountains?

Elsa stared at the sleeping form of the little girl. She looked so sweet and innocent, and her lips were almost curled into a smile. Elsa wondered if she had once looked that innocent, even though she never really was.

The thing that bothered Elsa the most was what to do now. She didn't know who the girl was or where she came from and she couldn't just leave her there. She thought maybe she'd look in the girl's bag to see if there was anything in there that would give her any clue as to the "who", the "where", or the "why", but she decided that it was not her place to search another person's possessions. She would just wait until the girl woke up...

After sitting there for what seemed like hours, Elsa's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a horse being stopped outside. The voice of the rider rang through her ears like an echo. She didn't move a muscle, praying that it wouldn't be who she thought it was...

The doors opened downstairs, and Elsa heard that voice that she really did not want to hear.

"Elsa? Elsa, I know you're in here."

_Liam._

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**_Read on, write on, dream on.- bandgeek63_**


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: Ah, the weekend is here! About time, too. I thought this week would never end.**

**Well, I'm not gonna say much today. Just read and review!**

**Disclaimer: Of course, it goes without saying, but I'm going to anyway: I do not own Frozen.**

* * *

Elsa had seen this coming. She knew when she wrote in the note "Don't come after me," that he probably would; she only mentioned it in the vain hope that he would've paid the slightest bit of attention to it.

_Wishful thinking._

Elsa rose from the side of the bed and exited the room, taking one look back at the child sleeping peacefully. She stood atop the steps and saw Liam, gazing around with fascination at the detail of the castle, just as her sister had once done.

"You're reminding me of Anna with that look on your face," she said, grabbing his attention. He laughed a little, but he seemed to be at a loss of what to say as he began to ascend the staircase.

"Speaking of," Elsa continued, "she and Kristoff didn't come with you?"

"No, I told them you probably wouldn't want to deal with them right now," he responded.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "And you think I want to deal with _you _right now?"

"No," he said, "but you're gonna _have_ to deal with me right now."

He reached the top of the stairs and stood close to her, looking down into her eyes that were beginning to fill with tears. He pulled her into a warm embrace and gently pressed his lips to hers.

Elsa could hear her conscience telling her to pull away, but her body wouldn't let her. His embrace was comforting, but it also reminded her of why she was here in the first place.

Eventually, she forced herself to break off the kiss and look down, away from his eyes. She didn't want to face him just yet.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked. "Are you angry with me?"

"No," she said, "I just- I don't know, I... I'm angry with myself..."

Elsa stopped. She didn't really mean to say that last part, but as she thought about it, she knew it was true.

"Why?" Liam said.

"Because I'm confused," she said. "Because I don't know how to feel about all this. I know I should be excited, but... I don't know- I'm... I'm scared."

Liam held her closer. "It's okay that you're scared. You just have to know that I will help you through this to the end."

Elsa broke away from him and leaned on the railing. "This is why I left. I knew you'd say that," she said.

"What do you want me to say?"

"I don't want you to say anything. I appreciate that you'll be there for me, but I don't want to just rely on you. I need to know that I can get myself through this, because when it really comes down to it, no one can do it for me."

Liam brushed a blonde lock of hair off of her face and looked her in the eye. "You can," he said. "I know you can. If anyone can do it, it's you."

Elsa sighed. She knew he was only trying to help, but this was something she needed to convince herself of.

Elsa took a deep breath as she realized something. "Look, even if I felt ready to go back right now, I can't."

Liam looked at her with a mix of confusion and concern. "What do you mean?"

Elsa led him to the room where the little girl slept. He looked at the child and then looked to Elsa for an explanation.

"She was outside the castle this morning, and a pack of wolves was attacking her. I drove them off with my powers and then brought her in here and patched her up as best I could. But I don't know who she is, or why she was up in the mountains..."

Liam looked back at the girl, and then back to Elsa as she trailed off. He gave her a small satisfactory smile.

"You're so worried about how good of a mother you'll be, but look how well you've taken care of this little girl."

"Liam, that's not my point!" Elsa said, turning to go up the rest of the stairs to the second floor.

"Then what is your point?" he said, following her.

"My_ point_ is that I can't leave because she's here!" Elsa replied. "I can't leave her alone, and I have no idea where she came from! I won't know until she wakes up."

She walked out onto the balcony with him at her heels. She sighed as she leaned against the railing and looked out over the mountains. Liam stood next to her, feeling the sad understanding wash over him.

"I'll stay with you," he offered.

"No," she replied, looking up at him. "One of us needs to be down in Arendelle, and right now, under the circumstances, it's not going to be me."

Liam sighed, and though wary, he nodded.

"I promise I'll be back by sundown tomorrow," Elsa said, facing him. He pulled her into his arms once again and kissed her forehead.

"Be safe," he said.

"I will," she replied. "You too."

Without another word, Liam turned and walked down the stairs and out of the castle. Elsa could see him mount his horse and ride away from the balcony, and she watched him until he disappeared through the cliff passage.

She stood there for what seemed like ages. The fact that one of them needed to be in the kingdom was not the _only _reason she sent him away. She knew that he was just trying to make her feel better, but she didn't want to hurt his feelings by telling him that he's not really helping. He was almost making it harder.

All of a sudden, light footsteps on the ice told her that the little girl had awoken. They grew closer, and Elsa could hear the faint breathing of the child. She didn't let herself show any reaction, knowing the girl was watching her. She breathed silently, waiting for the girl to say something.

What she did say surprised her.

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**You guys can make all the predictions you want as to what the little girl is going to say. I can almost guarantee that you'll** _**never**_** figure it out!**

_**Read on, write on, dream on.- bandgeek63**_


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N: DANGER! WARNING! WARNING! By the end of this chapter you will have officially reached the _sad _part of the story! Read on at your own risk!**

**On another note, Oscar's tonight! Woo-hoo! Rooting for Frozen! and I cant wait to see Idina Menzel perform Let it Go! I'm so excited! (Cause really, isn't that all any Frozen fan really cares about right now?)**

**Disclaimer: We all should know that I don't own Frozen. All I own are my OCs, and hey, here's a little disclaimer for them: All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.**

* * *

"Are you an angel?"

Elsa didn't breathe as she tried to process the little girl's words. _What had she called her? An angel?_ She would have been touched by the statement, but she felt that there was more than pure innocence behind that question.

When Elsa didn't show any reaction, the girl walked up behind her and gently tugged on her cape.

"Excuse me," the girl said.

Elsa looked behind her slightly, just enough that she could see the girl out of the corner of her eye.

"Are you an angel?" the girl repeated. "Am I in heaven?"

Elsa released the breath she had been holding in as quietly as she could, and looking back down at the railing in front of her, she smiled and shook her head.

"No, child," she replied.

"Oh," the little girl said, almost sadly it seemed. "Well... where am I?"

Elsa hesitated before giving an answer. "In the Snow Queen's castle."

"The Snow Queen?" the girl said. "Queen Elsa's ice castle?"

Elsa didn't respond.

"But wait... you mean you're...?"

Elsa turned toward her, and for the first time, the child got to see her face.

"Oh," the girl stuttered, curtsying, "your highness, I-"

The girl trailed off, unsure of what to say.

"Don't be afraid," Elsa said. "I'm not going to hurt you."

The girl looked up. "I'm not afraid," she said.

Elsa smiled. Part of her wanted to say more, but she decided to drop the subject.

"Tell me, child," she said, "what is your name?"

"Isabella," the girl replied. "Isabella Holst."

"That's a lovely name," Elsa said.

"Thank you," Isabella said. "Your name is lovely, too!"

Elsa let out a single laugh. "Thank you."

Isabella smiled, and then shivered.

"Oh dear, you must be freezing," Elsa said.

The girl nodded as she rubbed her arms.

"Here, come with me," Elsa said, holding out her hand for Isabella to take. She led her back to the bedroom and sat her on the bed where the sheets were now tossed around. She pulled out her extra cloak and wrapped it around the small child, who held it tightly around herself and looked up at her shyly.

"So do you have a family?" Elsa asked. The girl nodded. "Tell me about them."

"I live with my mother, my stepfather, my sister Emilie, my half-brother Erik, and my half-sister Sofia," Isabella said.

Elsa listened intently. She would not dare ask what happened to the girl's father.

"We live in a cottage in the woods," she continued. "My stepfather is an ice harvester, you see."

Elsa smiled, but remained somber. "Why were you not with them last night?" she asked.

"I ran away," Isabella said simply, looking at the floor. Elsa waited for her to continue, but she didn't.

"Why?" she said.

Isabella didn't respond right away and looked up at Elsa with sad, dark eyes. "It's complicated," she said.

Elsa sighed. She wasn't going to force Isabella to talk about it if she didn't want to.

"Well," Elsa said, "maybe I can help you get back-"

"No!" Isabella cut her off, and then tensed up remembering who she was speaking to. "I can't go back," she said a little more calm.

Elsa looked at her with pity. "Why not?" she asked.

"I just can't," Isabella replied. "I'm a burden to them right not, and I knew I couldn't stay because it would be too painful for me and for them."

Elsa sighed. She wasn't even going to bother asking _Why?_

"Where will you go?" she asked.

Isabella hesitated. She looked up at Elsa with her pleading brown eyes. "Could I stay here?" she asked almost in a whisper.

Elsa looked down at the floor and put on a sad smile. "No," she said. "That won't be possible."

"Why not?"

"Well, to tell you the truth, I won't be staying here very long either," the queen replied, standing and walking to the window. "I don't live out here; I live down in Arendelle. But I needed to get away from the world for a little while so... I came out here."

Elsa paused. The room became silent, and Elsa thought she would be able to hear a pin drop. Isabella spoke up again.

"Why did you leave?"

Elsa hesitated. She knew she couldn't tell anyone. Not yet.

"It's complicated," she replied. She heard Isabella laugh behind her. "But I have to go back tomorrow, so-"

"Can I go with you?" the girl blurted out.

Elsa looked back at her. "I'd say yes, but you can't stay there forever."

"It wouldn't be forever."

"Where will you go after that?"

Isabella hesitated. "I-I'm going to find my father," she said.

Elsa looked at her skeptically. "Do you know where he is?"

"Uhh... sort of?"

Elsa raised an eyebrow at her. Isabella sighed, and then yawned.

Elsa looked out the window at the sun setting on the horizon.

"Tired?" she said.

Isabella looked up and nodded. "Mm-hmm."

Elsa sighed and looked around the room. She stood back from the window, and using her powers she created a snowy-looking bed that looked like the other one, only smaller.

"Here," Elsa said, leading the child to the bed. Isabella placed down the cloak and sat on the bed. Elsa unwrapped the gauze on the girl's head so she could clean out the wound again. It had gotten much better, and it had almost healed over.

After the queen rewrapped the gauze, Isabella laid down. Elsa covered her with the blankets and made sure she was comfortable. "Now, I'll bring you with me down to Arendelle tomorrow, but when we get there, I want you to tell me everything so that I can help you get where you need to go. Do you understand?"

"Yes," the girl replied.

"Good. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"No, thank you," the girl replied, but then she had a thought. "Actually, could I just get my bag over here? Just so I have it nearby?"

Elsa smiled and retrieved the girl's pack from the other side of the room and placed it next to her.

"Is that all?" Elsa asked. The girl nodded. "Okay. Sleep tight, okay?"

"Okay," the girl replied as the queen began to walk away. "And, Queen Elsa?"

Elsa turned around. "Yes?"

"Thank you, so much," Isabella said. "For everything."

Elsa smiled. "Of course," she said. "Sleep well."

The girl nodded. "Goodnight," she said.

"Goodnight," Elsa replied as she exited the room. In the darkness, she climbed the stairs and stood on the balcony for many hours, just thinking.

.:.^*^.:.

Later, Elsa lay in her bed adjacent to Isabella's. She heard the girl toss and turn once in a while, but the queen herself could not sleep. She had too much on her mind.

She thought of how cryptic the girl was being when asked about her motives for running away. Elsa didn't feel like Isabella was lying, but it was obvious that a large piece of the puzzle was being left out. She had tried to piece it all together with the information she had been given, but none of the possible scenarios that occurred to her seemed to make sense.

There was also the issue of going back to Arendelle. People will start asking questions when they see Isabella with the queen, not that they wouldn't be asking questions anyway.

Besides, Elsa was still a little wary about going back. She mostly told Isabella that she was going back the next day because she was trying to come up with an excuse quickly as to why she couldn't stay in the ice castle with her. The girl really should go home anyway. Elsa imagined that her mother would be worried sick, and it seemed like the girl had nowhere else to go. She would have to go home sooner or later.

_Then again,_ she thought, _so will I._

Elsa's thoughts drifted back to the conversation she had with Liam earlier that day. She knew he was right. She would get through this; she'd have no choice! She would be a good mother, and Liam would be there to help her. And in reality, there wasn't much reason for her to stay out there any longer.

She had to go back.

Suddenly, Elsa heard Isabella getting up. Elsa opened one eye about halfway and saw the girl lying on the bed sideways on her stomach, leaning over the side and reaching into her bag. Out of the pack, she pulled a wooden recorder. She sighed and stared at the instrument before protectively hugging it to her chest.

She glanced at Elsa, who quickly shut her eye and pretended to be asleep. Elsa heard her crawl along the bed before she went silent.

Elsa opened her eyes completely now and saw Isabella kneeling on the bed, her elbows leaning on the windowsill. Her hands were folded around the flute, her head was tilted low, and her eyes were closed. It looked to Elsa as if she was praying. Isabella opened her eyes and looked up at the stars out the window.

"Oh, Papa," she whispered, "you said when it was my time you'd send an angel to bring me to you. Well, why do you make me wait? Why do you make me suffer with the pain of knowing that the day is still yet to come? We know it's coming soon; the doctor says so. He says I have no chance left, and that I don't have much time left. Well how come it can't just be over now? I can't keep this up much longer. It's too painful to watch people cry over me."

Isabella was now crying silently, and she wiped her face with her arm before looking up again.

"I'll be waiting for your angel, Papa."

Elsa sat up, stunned. Isabella gasped as she turned around and saw the queen staring at her agape.

It suddenly dawned on Elsa what this girl was saying. She tried to put the pieces together, hoping that she was wrong. But as everything started to make sense, the possibility that she was right became all too real.

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**... I warned you...**

_**Read on, write on, dream on. -bandgeek63**_


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hey, you know, I'm really loving all these reviews... that was sarcasm by the way. Come on, people! Don't just leave me hanging, tell me what you think! Like, seriously, I was at least expecting you all to start hating on me for the end of the last chapter!**

**Alright, well, I'm just gonna stop talking and say "Read and Review!"**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Frozen. However, if I could be Elsa for a day, that would be fabulous, because with all of this snow, I am sick of being cold all the time!**

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Elsa found herself in a staring contest with the little girl, both equally stunned at each other.

The queen couldn't believe what she had heard. She didn't want to believe it. Before her sat a child whose life would be over too soon.

After staring for what seemed like hours, Isabella broke eye contact with Elsa and sighed in defeat.

"How much did you hear?" she said.

Elsa gulped silently. "All of it," she whispered, standing up.

Isabella looked away. "And now you're going to send me home, right?"

"No," Elsa said to comfort her as she walked over. But then she paused as she realized this wasn't completely true. "Well, not yet."

She sat next to her on the bed and placed a hand on her shoulder. Isabella looked up to meet her eyes, and from the moonlight, Elsa could just barely make out the girl's tearstained face.

"Please," Elsa said, "I want to help you, but you need to tell me everything."

Isabella sniffed as she looked down at the instrument on her lap. Elsa could tell that she was about to get answers.

"Well, it's kind of a long story," Isabella began. She looked up at Elsa, who nodded for her to continue.

"It all started with my father. When I was real little, we were really close. We did everything together. He always had this way of cheering me up. We would play at home and go to town and do everything in between. One thing he taught me to love is music. He played a few different instruments, and he taught me how to play sjøfløyte." She nodded to the instrument in her lap. "He gave this to me. I hold it close to my heart because it's all I have left of him.

"Well, then when I was about five, he got sick. The doctors told us he wouldn't make it. I spent as much time as I could by his bedside. It hurt me to see him suffer, but I pushed through it so I could be with him.

"Then, one night before I left to go to bed, he told me that he would be going to heaven soon, and he promised me that when it was my time to join him there, he'd send an angel to bring me to him, so that I'd be with him once again. The next morning, when I woke up, I went to his room to see him. But he was gone."

Elsa listened intently as Isabella began to sob into her side. The girl soon pulled herself together to continue.

"Well, of course, life _eventually_ went on for me. It soon became too hard for my mother to take care of me and my sister by herself, so she got married again to a man named Mathias, who was actually a friend of my father. My mother has had two children with him as well. Mathias is good to us, and he treats my sister and me as if we were his own daughters. But at the same time, he knows that we miss our father, especially me since my sister was really too young to remember him. And he knows that he could never replace him.

"Anyway, about a year ago, I started having problems with my health. I would get headaches, have seizures, I'd have trouble with my vision from time to time, things like that. Well eventually we called the doctor and asked him about it. He said he'd seen these symptoms before, and as time went on and my symptoms got worse, he said that I was definitely following the same pattern that he had seen last time. He was fully able to confirm what it was; it's something in my brain. He said that there was no known way to treat it, and that I only had about a year left to live.

"We all tried to move on for now and live every day as if this wasn't hanging over our heads. But it's just too hard. Every moment I spend with my sister is painful because all I can see are the tears in her eyes. Eventually, it just became too much for me. So, I packed a bag, ran away, got chased by wolves... and here I am."

Isabella looked up at Elsa, who gave no response and simply stared at her blankly.

Isabella began to cry the most she had all night. Elsa hugged her tightly, and let the girl pour out her sadness onto her. She couldn't believe what this child had been through. She could never even imagine how hard it must have been. All Elsa's years growing up in isolation, all that sadness, suddenly didn't seem as bad as it once had.

"Shh," Elsa said, holding the child closely. "It's gonna be okay."

Elsa suddenly felt a connection to this child that she had never felt to anyone before. Isabella had helped her to realize that her own childhood could have been a lot worse. Elsa only wished that somehow by holding the girl in her arms she could make it better.

"Listen," Elsa said, adjusting herself so she could look at Isabella, "do you know why I came out here?" The girl shook her head. "A few days ago, I found out that I am going to have a baby, and this worried me."

Isabella looked up at her with confusion written across her face. "How could that be a bad thing?"

"It's not, really," Elsa laughed. "But when I found out about this, I was scared. I was scared that I might not be a very good mother. I was scared that my child will have to grow up carrying the burden that weighed me down for so many years."

Elsa formed some snowflakes in her hand to show what she meant. Isabella looked up at her with an expression that showed interest, but other than that was unreadable.

"But you know what?" Elsa said.

"What?"

"I've realized now that both you and I are just trying to avoid the inevitable."

Isabella looked at her, confused. "The inedible?"

Elsa laughed. "The _inevitable_. When something is inevitable, it means that it doesn't matter what you do; it's going to happen. And you just need to make the best of it. Look at it this way: I'm going to have this baby no matter what, and as long as that's true, I am going to make do with the situation I've been given and be the best mother I can."

"Good," Isabella said, but she was clearly interested as to what this had to do with her.

"I know you ran away because it hurts to know that you won't be with your family much longer, and you just want to get it over with," Elsa said. "But instead of trying to cut your time with them short, spend as much time as you can with them, and savor every last moment."

Isabella pondered this. "I never really thought of it that way," she said. "I guess _neither_ of us really thought this through, huh?"

Elsa smiled. "Well, I think," she said, "that tomorrow we both should go set things right. What do you think?"

Isabella sighed. Elsa was right; she had to go home.

"Okay."

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**Don't forget to review!**

_**Read on, write on, dream on. -bandgeek63**_


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N: Thank you all so much for the wonderful reviews! They really made my day! **

**So now, on to the story! Hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: No, I don't own Frozen! Why would you ask such a silly question?**

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Elsa awoke to the sunlight that poured in through the window. She yawned and stretched her arms as she remembered the night before. She opened her eyes and saw that Isabella was not in her bed, but her pack was still there, so Elsa knew she couldn't have left the castle.

The queen stood in front of her icy mirror and fastened her hair into a bun. Then, she became silent as she thought she heard music.

Leaving the room, she walked up the stairs to the second floor. On the balcony, she saw Isabella sitting cross-legged, watching the sunrise and playing her sjøfløyte.

The song was slow and lyrical, and there was a hint of sadness in the melody. Gradually, it got grander, as if to let go of the sadness and move on. It was such a beautiful piece, and Isabella played it so well.

When she finished the song, Elsa walked forward, and the girl turned around at the sound of her footsteps.

"That was beautiful," Elsa said.

"Thanks," Isabella replied. "My dad wrote it one day while watching the sunrise. He said that he had been going through a rough time when he wrote it, and the sunrise reminded him that time still moves forward, and life goes on..."

Isabella smiled at the memories of her father. Elsa sat down next to her and unwrapped the gauze.

"This looks a lot better," she said. "You were very lucky out there yesterday."

"I'm lucky you were there," Isabella replied.

Elsa smiled. "Come on," she said. "Let's get ready to go."

Isabella took her hand and followed her back to the bedroom. Elsa gave her some food, and braided her hair, much to the girl's enjoyment. Isabella packed up her bag and certainly didn't argue when the queen said that she could use her cloak for now.

Finally, Elsa led the girl down the stairs and out of the castle. She lifted Isabella up onto Winter before mounting herself.

Elsa took one look back at the ice castle. She knew she'd be back one day.

With Isabella in front of her, leading the way, they took off down the mountain. They rode for what seemed like hours, trying to navigate the woods.

"You're lost, aren't you?" Elsa finally said.

"Uhh... maybe?"

Elsa rolled her eyes. They'd get there sooner or later!

Suddenly, they heard a voice.

"Stop!"

Elsa halted Winter, and they looked around as they heard horses coming toward them.

"Give us the girl!" another voice commanded.

Elsa's eyes widened as three men on horseback were riding toward them from behind. They held crossbows in their hands.

"Winter, go!"

The horse took off, trying to run from the men. As one of them came up next to them and aimed his crossbow at Elsa, the queen knocked it out of his hands with a blast of ice.

Elsa looked back, as all three men had stopped dead. She pulled Winter to a stop as the men dropped their weapons and dismounted their horses. They quickly got down on their knees and bowed.

"Your majesty," the one in the middle said. "Our sincerest apologies. We didn't know..."

Elsa didn't say anything as he looked up into her cold stare.

He cleared his throat. "We were sent out after the girl."

"Mathias sent out a _search party?_" Isabella said, embarrassed. The man nodded.

"I see," Elsa said. "You needn't worry, gentlemen, I simply found the girl alone and was helping her to get home."

The man nodded. "Of course."

"Could you men lead the way for us? We seem to have gotten lost," Elsa said.

"Absolutely, your majesty," the man said, standing and mounting his horse as the others did the same.

They all took off through the forest toward Isabella's home. When they came across another member of the search party, one of the men told him, "Go tell Mathias we found her and we're bringing her home."

Finally, they reached a clearing in the woods where a small wooden cabin stood. The men dismounted their horses quickly, and the first one off rapped on the door.

"Agatha!" he called.

As Elsa lifted Isabella off of Winter, a flustered, middle-aged woman opened the door. She ran toward them when she saw Isabella, not paying attention to what the men were trying to say.

"Mama!" Isabella called to her. The woman embraced her as tight as she could, paying no mind to Elsa at the moment.

"Oh, Izzy, I was worried sick!" she exclaimed.

At the same time, another man on horseback emerged from the woods.

"Mathias!" the woman called to him. "Over here!"

The man jumped off his horse and ran over to the pair.

"Isabella, thank goodness you're alright," he said.

"I don't think I would be if it weren't for Queen Elsa," Isabella replied, looking back at Elsa.

_Oh, great,_ the queen thought, _here we go!_

Immediately at the mention of the word "queen", the two adults stared at Elsa agape for a moment, and Elsa could swear she saw them take a few steps back. They were soon down on the ground bowing.

"Queen Elsa," the woman stuttered, looking up, "it is an honor to be in your presence-"

"The pleasure is all mine," Elsa said, smiling. "Please, do rise; I'm not one for formality."

"Of course, your majesty," the woman said, as she and Mathias stood.

"And whom do I have the pleasure of addressing?"

"Oh, Agatha Ljungman, your majesty, Isabella's mother," the woman said holding out her hand, which Elsa took. "And this is my husband, Mathias." He nodded.

"Pleasure to meet you," the queen said. "Might I come inside?"

"Yes, of course! Right this way!"

Agatha led her inside the little house, and as soon as they entered, Elsa heard a small but loud voice running toward them.

"Izzy!"

A girl who looked like a smaller version of Isabella came running into the room and nearly tackled Isabella in a hug. The commotion grew even louder as Elsa heard crying from a cradle across the room.

"Now look, Emilie! You've woken Sofia," Agatha scolded the her.

"Sorry," the younger girl replied.

"Oh, never mind," Agatha sighed. "Isabella, why don't you go change out of those wet clothes? Emilie... go with her."

The two girls obeyed, and Elsa could hear them chattering as they disappeared into another room down the hall.

"I'm sorry, your majesty," Agatha said as she cradled Sofia in her arms. "With four children, it's never very quiet around here."

Elsa laughed. "That's quite alright."

"Please, sit down," the woman said, motioning to the couch by the wall.

"Can I get you anything, Queen Elsa?" Mathias offered. "Some tea, perhaps?"

"No, thank you," the queen replied as she sat down.

Mathias smiled and then addressed his wife. "I'm going to go round up the rest of the search party. Tell them we found her."

"Okay," Agatha said. "Hurry back."

With that, Mathias left as Agatha sat across from the queen.

"Your majesty, I cannot thank you enough for bringing my daughter home," she said. "I do hope she did not trouble you-"

"No!" Elsa interrupted. "Not at all."

Agatha sighed in relief as the queen continued.

"She was actually outside my ice castle, yesterday morning, and I saved her from some wolves that were trying to attack her."

The woman before her looked horrified, obviously at what could have happened if Elsa had not been there.

A small noise from the adjacent room drew Elsa's attention, and there, just barely peeking past the doorway, hid a little boy who was the spitting image of Mathias.

"Erik." Agatha held out her free arm to him, and he quickly ran and hid behind his mother's leg, obviously scared of the stranger that sat before him. Elsa merely smiled.

"So," Agatha continued nervously, "did Isabella tell you about...?"

"Yes," Elsa nodded. "I'm so sorry."

Agatha smiled as she tried to hold back her tears. "Thank you," she said weakly.

"Mama?" the little boy said quietly, tugging on his mother's skirt.

"Yes, dear?"

"Can I play toys?"

"Yes, dear, you can play with your toys. Bring them in your room, though."

"Okay," Erik said as he pulled a small wooden sword and shield from a basket in the corner and walked down the hallway.

Elsa smiled. "He looks just like his father," she said.

"Yes," Agatha said. "They all do. Isabella and Emilie both take after their father, and none of them look very much like me at all."

The woman sighed as she rocked the baby Sofia in her arms.

"Mathias is a good man," she continued. "He knew Oliver, my first husband, and he knows that I loved him and I miss him. It's good to have him around to help take care of the children."

Elsa nodded. "Yes, I'm sure. It must have been very difficult for you."

Agatha didn't say anything as she sniffed back tears. Elsa feared that maybe she shouldn't have said that.

"I'm sorry; I don't mean to impose-"

"No, it's alright," Agatha reassured her. "I've just been very sensitive since we lost Oliver. And now that we're losing Isabella..."

She trailed off as she tried to pull herself together. Elsa decided to put the conversation to an end.

"I'm so sorry for all of you."

Agatha smiled at the queen. "Again, I cannot thank you enough for saving Isabella, your majesty. If I may ask, your majesty, why is it that you were in your castle in the mountains? Don't you live down in Arendelle?"

"Yes, I do," Elsa said, thinking of how to put this. "Well, you see, the other day, I actually found out that I am going to have a baby, and I knew I should have been excited, but honestly, I was scared. So, I went to my ice castle to just be alone for a while, and that's where I found Isabella."

Elsa looked up at Agatha, who listened intently.

"You know," the queen continued, "I've realized upon talking to your daughter that it makes no sense to try to avoid the inevitable. You just have to make do the best you can with the situation you've been given, and that's exactly what I told her to do."

"Your majesty, Isabella has had a rough childhood, and it won't even get to be completed, but I'd like to thank you for giving her the strength to live out the rest of it."

Elsa nodded as Agatha continued.

"And, if I may say so your majesty, this new prince or princess will be a blessing to Arendelle and to you, and having four children myself, I can tell you that just from meeting you, I can tell that you will make a wonderful mother."

Elsa beamed, relieved at the reassurance of an experienced mother. "Thank you, so much."

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_**Read on, write on, dream on. -bandgeek63**_


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hey guys! Shorter chapter today, but I swear I almost cried when I wrote it. So it's not much, but... well, you'll just have to find out!**

**Also, as much as I hate to say it, this story is actually almost over. After this chapter, there are only two left. I told you it was going to be over quickly. But not to worry! My writing is not done yet! I still have a few things up my sleeve... Don't worry, I'll elaborate on that tomorrow.**

**But for now, just read and review!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Frozen. That's all I have to say.**

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Elsa could feel so many emotions rushing through her at once as she saddled up, getting ready to go back to Arendelle. But one thing that made her feel better was the fact that she had promised Agatha that she would give their family her support through this difficult time, providing them with the money they needed to get by. Agatha had tried to argue that she didn't have to do that, but Elsa insisted, and finally, the woman gratefully accepted her help.

Before Elsa could mount Winter, she felt a familiar tug on her cloak. She turned around and looked down into Isabella's sad brown eyes.

"Queen Elsa," the girl said, "will I ever see you again?"

Elsa bent down to be at eye level with her. "No," she said, "probably not." It pained her to say this, but she wasn't going to lie to her. Isabella looked down with tears starting to form in her eyes.

"But," the queen continued, lifting the girl's head up, "I want to give you this to remember me by."

In the air, Elsa traced a thin line around Isabella's neck, and the icy chain of a necklace appeared, at the end of which formed a light blue pendent with a snowflake embedded in the middle. It stood out from the rest of the girl's attire, but she didn't seem to mind as a smile formed on her face.

"Isabella," Elsa said seriously, "I want you to promise me that for every day you have left, no matter what happens, you'll keep your head held high and savor every moment. No matter how your story ends, I want you to know that you have rewritten mine. You'll be with me, like a handprint on my heart."

Isabella smiled with tears streaming down her face. "Queen Elsa?"

"Yes?"

"The baby that you're going to have? Take care of it, because I know you can. Should it have your powers, that's okay, because I'm sure you'll be just as good of a mother as you've been a friend."

Elsa let the tears she had been holding in pour down her cheeks as she hugged the child tightly.

"Don't forget about me," Isabella said between sobs. "I won't forget about you."

Elsa shook her head. "I won't forget you," she cried. She pulled back and looked Isabella in the eye, wiping the tears from the girl's face. "I won't forget you."

Isabella put on the best smile she could as Agatha walked up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder.

Elsa stood and looked at the girl's mother, who had gratitude written across her face.

"Thank you," Agatha said once again, trying to keep in her own tears.

Elsa nodded, smiling. She mounted Winter and looked down at Isabella, who cried into her mother's skirt.

"Take care," she said to the pair.

"You too," Agatha replied.

Isabella looked up at Elsa. The queen took one last look at the girl and met her eyes.

"Your angel will come to you," she said. "I promise."

Isabella sniffed as she nodded, donning a sad smile across her face.

Elsa, mirroring her smile, sighed and looked forward as she and Winter finally took off. She knew she would never see Isabella again.

Winter raced through the forest, and soon enough they crossed the bridge into Arendelle. People in the streets waved happily to their queen as she passed. When they entered the castle gates, Elsa dismounted as servants welcomed her back and took Winter away to the stables.

As soon as she entered the castle, she saw Anna running toward her, while Kristoff and Liam walked behind her, not bothering to try to keep up. Anna nearly tackled her sister in a hug, and Kristoff tried to calm her down before she could squeeze the life out of her.

Elsa turned to Liam, who smiled at her. She ran into his arms and laughed as he spun her around before placing her down and kissing her.

"Liam, I missed you so much," she said.

"I missed you, too," he replied. "What made you come back?"

Elsa glanced behind her at Anna and Kristoff, who listened intently. Then she looked back up into Liam's hazel eyes.

"I met an angel."

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**Okay, before everyone starts asking, yes! I did have "For Good" from Wicked running through my head when I wrote this chapter! (Disclaimer: I do not own Wicked, either.) Just cause I know that some of you were probably wondering! ;-)**

_**Read on, write on, dream on. -bandgeek63**_


	10. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hello all! Once again, kind of a short chapter! I promise the next one is longer! This chapter and the next one are the last two chapters, and they're kind of like two parts of an epilogue. There's the sad part, and then there's the happy part. This is the sad part, so brace yourselves!**

**But before we get to that, I mentioned yesterday that while this story is almost over, my writing is not done yet. Now, I know what some of you are probably thinking..**

**Your thoughts: _Sequel? _:-D**

**Me: :-* ... No. Look, I've got a few _vague _ideas for a sequel to this, but I don't really see them coming to light, at least not anytime soon. Now, I say this because I am currently working on a new fic for Frozen that is unrelated to this one. It's an Elsa/OC fic (Not with Liam! sorry!) but I will be posting it (hopefully!) sometime next month. I'll post something about it on my profile when it gets closer to being done.**

**But for now, read and review!**

**Disclaimer: We should all know by now that I don't own Frozen.**

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Would Elsa ever forget about Isabella? No.

The queen kept her promise to Agatha, and she routinely send them money to keep up with their finances. Agatha would often send her back letters of thanks, and she would often include details on Isabella's condition as her health slowly deteriorated.

Elsa thought about Isabella every day. She would hear plenty of other people's sad stories in her life, but this girl would always hold a special place in her heart. She had recounted Isabella's story to Anna, Kristoff, and Liam, and they all sympathized with her as well. How could you not?

Elsa thought over all of this one day while sitting in her study, having just finished her paperwork for the day. It had been several months since she met Isabella, and the queen was now heavily pregnant with her child.

The last letter that she had gotten from Agatha told her of how Isabella's condition was progressively getting worse. They all knew the day would be soon, and Agatha promised to notify her when it did. Agatha had also tried to assert that Elsa did not have to continue sending them money after Isabella was gone, but Elsa fully intended to give the whole family support as long as they needed it, so long as it was in her power.

As if on cue, there was a knock on the door of the study. At the queen's command, the royal messenger entered with a letter for Elsa. He handed it to her and bowed as she dismissed him.

Examining the letter, Elsa recognized the handwriting on the envelope. It was smooth and perfect, like a work of art. But her heart sank when she saw the marks on the paper that could only have been left by drops of water.

Taking a deep breath, Elsa reached for the letter opener and tore the envelope open. She pulled out the wrinkled note and unfolded it with care. She read it slowly, afraid to miss a word:

_Queen Elsa,_

_I am greatly saddened to inform you that on the evening of January 9, 1786, my daughter, Isabella Holst, passed away to her illness at the age of nine years and eight months. It is a relief to know that she is not suffering anymore, but the pain of losing my firstborn child is unbearable. _

_Your majesty, I'd like to thank you again for all of your support through this difficult time. I don't think we could have gotten by this long without it. However, it will no longer be needed, for we are leaving our home to be with some of Mathias's family in a nearby kingdom. With all of the memories that our house holds, we can't bear to stay there any longer. So I guess this is my farewell, and I suppose the only thing left to do is wish you luck with your family and with Arendelle._

_Thank you for understanding,_

_Agatha Ljungman_

Elsa sat back in her chair as she tried to take it all in. It was all over. Isabella was gone. Elsa knew it was coming, but that didn't make it much easier. She had only met Isabella that one time, but the girl's story had melted her heart in an instant.

At least her suffering was over. Agatha had mentioned in her last letter that Isabella was in a lot of pain. Now her pain was over, and Elsa had no doubt that the little girl had found her father in heaven.

There was a knock at the door, and Liam poked his head in.

"Elsa, aren't you done everything-"

He cut himself off when he saw tears rolling down the queen's face. Walking in and kneeling down next to her chair, he looked at her with concern.

"What is it?" he said.

Elsa sniffed as she turned her head toward him and looked into his eyes.

"Her angel has appeared," she said.

Liam understood what that meant. Isabella's story had hit him a bit harder than it hit Anna and Kristoff, since he had actually seen the child.

He sighed as he eyed the letter on the desk. Elsa leaned over and buried her face in his shirt, and he stroked her hair as she wept into his shoulder. Neither said another word on the topic. There was nothing to say.

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**I have come to the decision that I am going to post the last chapter tomorrow rather than waiting till Tuesday, for two reasons. First: come on, do you really think I'm going to leave you on that note for two whole days? I'm not _quite _that mean! And second, this week is tech week for my school play (which I am in) so I figured it was best to get this out of the way as soon as possible so I can focus on what I need to do! So... you're welcome! you get one less day to wait, although I should warn you that it'll be a little later tomorrow cause I have dress rehearsal right after school. So you'll get to enjoy the last chapter... and I'll get to have "Annie" haunting my nightmares! Pray I don't die!**

_**Read on, write on, dream on. -bandgeek63**_


	11. Chapter 10

**A/N: I'd like to thank you all _so _much for all your support through this story! Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you've enjoyed! Like I said before, I am currently working on a new fic for Frozen that should be coming out sometime next month, so keep an eye out for that. But in the meantime, I invite you to enjoy this final chapter of "Waiting For an Angel".**

**Disclaimer: No matter how many times I stand in front of my mirror and sing Let it Go, I have never and will never own Frozen.**

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The queen's eyes fluttered open as she awoke. The last thing she remembered was an excruciating amount of pain and the sound of a baby's cry. Then everything had gone black.

Elsa tried to look around, but she was so tired she could barely lift her head. When she blacked out, it had just barely been the break of dawn. Now sunlight poured into the room, making it seem much more cheerful.

"Elsa?" a familiar voice said.

She looked up and saw Liam sitting in a chair across the room, cradling a bundle of blankets. He smiled at her and walked over to her bedside.

"It's a girl," he said.

Elsa carefully took the bundle into her arms. A little pale face peeked out from the blankets. Elsa marveled at the new life that she had brought into this world. The child opened her eyes, and Elsa saw that they were the same blue as hers. She saw wispy strands of white hair poking out from under the blanket that covered the top of the baby's head.

"She's so cold..." Elsa remarked.

Liam bit his lip and looked up, unsure as to how she was reacting to this. "I know," he replied.

Elsa beamed down at her daughter as she started to cry. "Oh Liam, she's so beautiful!"

Liam released his breath that he had been holding and smiled. He sat next to her and couldn't take his eyes off of his daughter.

"Have the people been told I had the baby?" Elsa asked.

"Yes," Liam replied, "and they are overjoyed, but, of course, we haven't released a name yet."

Elsa looked up at him. "A name..."

He smiled. "I think I know what you want to name her," he said.

She nodded as she rocked the child. "Isabella."

Liam turned his gaze to his daughter. "Isabella it is."

.:.^*^.:.

Later that night, Elsa lay on the bed with her daughter asleep in her arms. She was exhausted, but she fought the fatigue so she could stay awake. She knew she'd have to get used to it anyway.

Liam had wanted to stay with Elsa, but she insisted that he go get some rest and that she would sleep later.

Her mind was filled with wonder over how beautiful her baby was. Princess Isabella would one day be the spitting image of her mother. Although, this had made Liam worry about what the _teen_ years would bring, but they had a long way to go for that.

Elsa thought of the princess's namesake. Isabella would never get to grow up, to have her own family. She would never even get to enjoy those rotten teen years. No, she would never be more than nine years old. Elsa would make sure that her child would, and Isabella Holst could live vicariously through the princess of the same name.

In the dark room, Elsa could feel sleep closing in on her. She tried to keep her eyes open as she rocked the baby in her arms, but the darkness threatened to consume her...

Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a faint light next to her. She turned her head to see, and there, on the other side of the sheer curtain next to the bed, stood Isabella holding on to a candleholder with a lit candle. She wore a simple white dress that looked a bit like a nightgown, and around her neck was the pendent that Elsa had given her.

"Isabella?" the queen whispered. The child didn't say anything. Elsa wondered if her tired eyes were starting to play tricks on her, but the girl was still there after she rubbed her eyes. She seemed to have a heavenly presence, almost ghost-like, but in a good way.

"I don't know if I'm seeing things," Elsa said, "or if you're really there. But, I guess, at this point, I don't really care."

Isabella smiled at these words, but still didn't say anything.

Elsa said the question she needed to ask. "Did you see your angel?"

"Yes," Isabella finally spoke. There was an echo to her voice that made her sound angelic. "He appeared before me in the night. He took my hand, and instantly, the pain subsided. He led me away from the pain of my life to live again in heaven. He seemed familiar, so I asked, 'Have we met before?' He looked down at me, and said, 'Oh, Izzy. From the moment you were born, I cradled you, I sheltered you, I was always there.'"

Behind Isabella, a man in white appeared with the same golden brown hair and brown eyes as her. It was Isabella's father, Oliver Holst. He was her angel. Isabella looked up at him as he bowed his head to the queen, who smiled in return.

Elsa looked down again at the child in her arms. "Oh, Isabella," she said, "I only wish that my daughter would have gotten the chance to meet you. You've had such an influence on my life, and I wish you could have been here to influence her life as well."

"Don't worry," Isabella said. "I'll always be there for her. I will be there to guide her, even though she cannot see me. I am a part of her. She even bears my name."

Elsa smiled greatly at this remark with tears rolling down her face. She didn't know what to say.

"I'll be her angel," Isabella said. "I'll be with her, and I'll be with you too."

The girl smiled genuinely at the queen, before a sudden gust of wind blew out the candle in her hand, and Isabella and her father disappeared.

Elsa looked down at her daughter sleeping peacefully in her arms. She brushed back the little locks of blonde hair and kissed her forehead. This new little miracle that had come into her life was a blessing that she would never let go of.

Elsa heard footsteps and looked up to see Liam standing in the doorway.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," she replied.

"Who were you talking to a minute ago?"

Elsa sighed. "No one," she replied. "Just imagining things."

Liam smiled and sat down next to her on the bed. "Here," he said, "let me take her."

Elsa handed him Isabella and he placed the child into her crib on the other side of the room before returning to Elsa's side. Leaning in, he kissed her passionately, and she felt the heat of his face on hers.

When he pulled away, he smiled at her and held her face in his hand. "You've done so well today," he said. She smiled in thanks. "Get some sleep," he continued, standing. "You'll need it."

"Liam?" Elsa said as he began walking toward the door. He turned around to see her smiling face. "I love you."

He smiled in return. "I love you, too."

As he left, Elsa thought about how lucky she was. She had a good relationship with her sister, a loving husband, and now a beautiful daughter.

Smiling, the queen drifted into a peaceful sleep.

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_**Read on, write on, dream on. -bandgeek63**_


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